Published: March 21, 2003

State agriculture officials say they expect a current outbreak of avian influenza to be mild and limited. The outbreak prompted Japan to temporarily ban poultry imports from the United States. Japan lifted the ban after receiving assurance that proper steps were being taken, but a ban on Connecticut poultry remains in effect. The Department of Agriculture's acting commissioner, Bruce Gresczyk, said he expected negative results from farms on Shailor Hill Road in Colchester and on East Street in Hebron, according to The Day of New London. Kofkoff, a company that controls more than 90 percent of Connecticut's egg market, owns seven facilities. Farms on Schwartz Road in Bozrah and Mack Road in Lebanon have tested positive for a mild form of the influenza.